22 June 2005

Tourism spending continues to rise

The latest statistics for tourism prove yet again the importance of the tourism industry to New Zealand, Tourism Minister Mark Burton said today.

He was commenting on the latest Tourism Satellite Account, which showed that Tourism expenditure was $17.2 billion for the year ended March 2004 – an increase of 0.4 per cent on the previous year.

The report showed that international tourism contributed $7.4 billion (or 18.5 per cent) of total New Zealand exports in 2004.

"It's also pleasing to note that spending by domestic tourists increased 2.6 per cent to $9.8 billion. It's great that many New Zealanders are taking advantage of the variety of tourism experiences available in their own country and we want to encourage even more of them to do so.

"These accounts represent the enormous effort from New Zealanders up and down the country to make New Zealand a prime destination. Tourism accounts for around one in 10 jobs in New Zealand.

"That tourism is generating significantly more in export returns than even our cornerstone dairy industry (which totalled $5.7 billion, or 14.3 per cent), indicates just how important tourism has become to the New Zealand economy

"The fact that tourism earnings continue to rise shows the enormous potential for the industry.

"That's why in this year's Budget the Government invested a further $8.9 million in key overseas markets to build on the successful Tourism New Zealand 100% Pure Campaign," Mr Burton said.

ENDS

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